Episode 110 [ Jeju Island, Phaethon Raid – 2 ]
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Red-hot molten iron was running across the runway like waves. The asphalt where it flowed boiled and smoke rose.
Kk—r—r—r—r——
– Hey Mr. Lee! What is that doing!
Han Tae-san’s voice filled with irritation was heard. However, I had no choice but to step back because I didn’t want to shower with molten iron.
“You’re… you’re not controlling all of that right now, are you?”
Kang Seo-yoon asked while hanging on Fridwen’s lamp door.
‘As expected, you have a good sense of vision, don’t you?’
Like her question, that was beyond Lee Hyun-wook’s ability to control metal.
“Because that is also a liquid, some of it is flowing on its own.”
If the metal is made into a liquid state and moved, the sticky molten metal can stick together and flow in an amount that is more than the metal can control.
It was also possible to force the overall flow by controlling only a part.
For example, simply by applying force to the edge or sloping the bottom, a kind of ‘waterway’ could be formed and made to move in one direction.
Kk—r—r—r—r——
Hundreds of tons of controlled molten metal attacked the skeleton army.
yes–
At that moment, the priests of death gathered their strength and unfolded a black dome. It was the wide-area shield skill that easily blocked Lee Hyun-wook’s steel rain.
‘…We can break through this time.’
Lee Hyun-wook created a whirlwind of molten metal and hit the black dome.
It also concentrated its power on just one point.
Bur—bur—bur—bur—bur——!
A persistent whirlwind attack that feels like digging into an area with a drill.
Then the black dome began to shake uneasily.
‘Good, it works.’
But that wasn’t the end.
Hyunwook Lee took out the last ‘secret’ he had hidden.
[Skill Information]
– Name: Auror (Saint)
– Grade: D
– Effect: Consumes mana (10) to grant ‘Aura (Saint)’ to a specific weapon.
* If you swallow a certain amount of ‘metal containing divine power’, your skill level will improve.
‘It seems like it’s been quite a while since I’ve used this.’
In other words, from now on, it had become a whirlpool of sacred molten iron.
T-uh-uh——!
Eventually, a crack appeared in the black dome and one part collapsed.
Molten iron snakes into the hole like a red dragon.
The place where the dragon’s head is heading is the center of the devil’s army.
Where the priests of death gather
Above it, a red dragon pours down like a waterfall.
Per—uh—uh—uh——!
Lee Hyun-wook accelerated the whirlwind without stopping and completely crushed the enemies.
De—de—de—de——!
It seemed like they didn’t have the talent to stop that terrifying phenomenon.
De—de—de—de——!
Just like that, he literally melted 20 priests of death at once.
“…….”
-…….
Unlike when Han Tae-san was active, silence continued this time.
If what Taesan Han showed was superhuman strength,
What Hyunwook Lee created was a catastrophic destructive force.
Although it was a different area, it was visually a landslide victory for Lee Hyun-wook.
– uh! The green light surrounding the skeletons over there has disappeared!
The ‘aura’ was lost due to the annihilation of the priests of death.
“Mr. Lee Hyun-wook, now you can control the metal… right?”
Hyunwook Lee nodded his head and closed his eyes.
Before I knew it, the skeletons were wearing iron helmets and iron armor.
They were all included within Lee Hyun-wook’s control.
In fact, this was Lee Hyun-wook’s true show time.
Hyunwook Lee stood at the ramp door of Friedwen and looked down at the runway.
Then he slowly raised his left hand.
‘Shred—’
Soon, the spectacle of thousands of skeletons exploding all at once unfolded.
***
A man was standing in front of a window with drooping blinds on the 12th floor of a building. He was keeping a close eye on the front door of the building across the street.
“Huh? It came out!”
Then he hurriedly lifted up the Mana Messenger as if he had caught something.
Chick—
“…This is where crow 2 and the mother bear come out of the den.”
Then, an SUV parked behind the building hurriedly started and the man sitting in the passenger seat lifted up the Mana Messenger.
“I’m going to start tracking the black rat and the mother bear.”
The people who were secretly pursuing someone were informants of the ‘Special Secret Police Bureau’, also known as [Black Swan], a secret intelligence department under Woo Seong-moon.
However, ‘Mother Bear’ Ki Baek-jun was also aware of their pursuit.
“Master chase caught up. SUV in the back two lanes.”
The female wizard player sitting next to him said that.
“…Tsk tsk, you’re really playing detective, aren’t you?”
He put on his sunglasses and leaned his head on the seat as if he was annoyed.
“And the truck will be here soon. We’ll get it ready to go.”
“Yes, they are watching you from all sides, so make sure not to be noticed.”
“Yes, we will ‘rendezvous’ carefully.”
Before they knew it, a large trailer came next to the sedan they were riding in.
The two vehicles naturally kept their distance and ran for about a minute.
And at an intersection, a signal came on and both cars stopped.
“Then let’s start short-distance teleportation.”
She began to recite her incantation and a pale light filled the car.
yes–
The next moment, Ki Baekjun was sitting in a dark space.
That place was none other than the trailer running next to it.
The trailer then turned left and the sedan turned right.
Government watchdogs will naturally go after sedans.
That is, until it goes to an abandoned factory in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do.
‘By the time I notice that, I will already be in Laputa.’
At that time, a man walked out from inside the trailer.
“Master, I’m going to Seoul Station now.”
“So, did our commando team arrive safely?”
“Yes, we have already arrived at the scene and are circling the area.”
“They are beasts, not humans. You have to be careful.”
“Yes, I will once again order you to be careful and control it.”
Laputa was floating above Seoul Station.
Therefore, Seoul Station had to be taken over first.
“And you must have planted those seeds well underground… right?”
“Yes, if you give the money, it will grow in an instant and reach Laputa.”
Their plan was systematic and was proceeding without any problems.
Soon we would be setting foot in Laputa.
***
Meanwhile, there was Park Jun-mo in Laputa.
“No matter how much I think about it… I think I showed a lot of things that I didn’t like.”
He was sitting on the railing of the airship port and looking at the sky.
But what had happened made his face look downcast.
“That’s why Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook was in a bad mood, and that’s why he left me here. It was obvious that I would show that he didn’t like me again….”
Lee Hyun-wook always took Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo with him. But… unlike usual, only Park Jun-mo was left out in this Jeju Island attack.
The reason was because Lee Hyeon-wook told me not to come.
He told me to stay in Laputa instead….
“No, I wonder why… why…”
At this moment, Park Jun-mo felt an uneasy feeling for some reason. This was the feeling I had when I was in elementary school and my friends went to a PC room without me.
When I thought about it carefully, I wondered if this was some kind of demotion.
“Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook is like a benefactor to me, but I couldn’t repay the favor… I didn’t even notice and kept whining like a private. So I thought that if I take a guy like that around, I’ll get into an accident….”
Lee Jeong-jun, who was listening to the story, shook his head.
“Oh, that’s not right. Junmo has gone too far.”
“Then why did you ask me to stay here?”
“Uh um… you were prepared for something to happen here.”
“…What could happen here?”
Park Jun-mo said that and looked around.
There is nothing but blue sky in all directions.
This was a place where not even a single bird could visit.
Lee Jeong-jun also couldn’t hide his embarrassed expression.
“Well, you didn’t prepare weapons like that, did you?”
The ‘Thunder God’s Mace’ was installed in the place he pointed to.
“And he also asked me to take good care of my security.”
Hyunwook Lee called Jeongjun Lee before leaving for Jeju Island.
And he asked me to take charge of Laputa’s guard while he was away.
‘Well, that’s probably just a preparation for an emergency, but…’
Thong—thong—thong—thong—
At that time, I heard the sound of a ball bouncing somewhere.
In the distance, at the airship port, a bronze giant was bouncing a basketball. Talos Laputa’s general AI seemed to be enjoying his new body.
Well, with something like that guarding it, who would come in here?
“…Well, I don’t think anything will happen to me either.”
“So, I was placed in a place where nothing would happen.”
“No… Huh… I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
bang!
It was the sound of a basketball hoop breaking and it was already the third time.
***
At that time, the steel fleet landed on the runway of Jeju Island International Airport.
“Everyone, listen carefully! We are going to make this area a sanctuary from now on!”
According to Kang Seo-yoon’s orders, various sacred objects began to be installed.
The number of sacred objects used in this work alone was as many as 245.
“—All four-way connecting sanctuaries, north, south, east and west, have been installed!”
– There is a ‘holy power’ in the area.
In this way, a portion of Jeju International Airport received a sanctuary buff.
“Now the undead won’t be able to get to this place.”
Using this as a base, the priests would shoot ‘Holy Light’ into the sky over the area to push away the red wisps, thereby securing the air route.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But… not long after, I encountered another problem.
It was a warning system message that came out of nowhere.
– caution! [Chloride Storm: Stage 1] is scheduled to begin in the area.
* Remaining time: 00:09:59
“…….huh?”
That message appeared before the eyes of every player on Jeju Island.
“What do you mean, a chlorine storm… what does this mean?”
“…I don’t think the tone of the writing is very good.”
“Of course. It was a warning in the first place. What is it again, Mr. Ah?”
And when the countdown ended 10 minutes later…
Per—uh—uh—uh—uh——!
“uh! what!”
A pillar of fire rose from Baeknokdam, Jeju Island.
It created a dramatic scene rising through the clouds.
It really felt like a volcano erupting.
Immediately after that, a huge fever began to come down the mountain.
Qua—and—and—and—and——!
“uh!”
The power of the craze could be seen at a glance even from afar.
Trees were uprooted and flying high into the sky…
Then, the wind blows through the city center, causing all the cars to overturn.
The next step was the airport.
“Damn it! Everyone prepare for strong winds!”
Since it took some time for the craze to reach the runway, wizard players prepared and deployed wide-area magic shields in the meantime.
“Everyone—get behind the shield!”
Hwaaaa——!
“Ugh! It’s hot!”
However, there were many players who suffered burns from the heat.
“Huh! Hah! My god, what is this all of a sudden!”
“Isn’t the boss monster in Baekrokdam?”
However, it was ridiculous that the damage was done this far.
Still, since most of the players gathered here were rankers, they were annoyed but not confused, and skillfully prepared for the next craze.
‘…Chloride Storm That is Phase 2 of this event.’
Lee Hyun-wook naturally expected this to happen.
When all the demonic legions that had made a deal with the boss monster Phaethon were eliminated, the boss monster Phaeton, the flame giant, came forward himself.
And it doesn’t wait for players to prepare for their strategy.
‘In other words, this will be some kind of time-limited mission.’
just as expected….
– caution! [Chloride Storm: Stage 2] is scheduled to begin in the area.
* Remaining time: 00:29:59
“…Are you fucking coming again?”
“But this time it’s stage 2!”
The levels gradually increase like this.
The first stage was just a strong craze.
‘But when it reaches level 5, the entire Hallasan Mountain will be burned down.’
The power that burned down 21 islands in the Philippines in a previous life…
And at the end, it ends up creating a small sun.
In this way, world boss monsters become more powerful as time passes.
‘We have to kill him before that happens.’
Soon, Kang Seo-yoon urgently summoned the group leaders.
“Damn, if this happens… I’m going to have to completely change my plan.”
The plan to establish a base here, secure the safety of civilians, and then slowly prepare for an attack had no choice but to be completely abandoned.
“And I was planning to wait until Inferno, who can control fire, returns from clearing the dungeon, but that won’t work either.”
Now there is only one way.
“We… have to attack that boss monster as quickly as possible.”
This meant that I had to enter the raid right now.
“Hey, this isn’t good….”
“If there are this many variables, there will be more variables.”
But Han Taesan was still triumphant.
“It’s better to just kill it quickly and move on!”
He said that and glanced at Lee Hyun-wook.
“It’s a bit annoying for me to beat up random mobs, so I get a little nervous, but I’m really good at beating up big guys, right? You don’t have to worry.”
Even though Hyun-wook Lee may be defeated in a one-on-many match, it is not a one-on-one match.
And that was natural.
‘No player has as much advantage over boss monsters as Han Taesan.’
He was a ‘Bruiser’ or ‘deal tank’ type player, and was the strongest among players capable of both ‘dealing’ and ‘tanking’ at the same time.
Therefore, he is a monster that can engage in one-on-one confrontation with boss monsters….
“Hey, you’re not too elated just because you did well once, are you?”
Lee Hyun-wook just smiled and didn’t give any reply.
but….
“Ugh! “Why does my head keep hurting today?”
Immediately afterwards, the Steel Fleet took off again.
And as I increased my altitude to several hundred meters in the air, I could see the second largest mountain on the Korean Peninsula at a glance. It was covered in gray smoke, but it had been somewhat washed away, perhaps thanks to the ‘chlorine storm’ a while ago.
“Wow… Hallasan Mountain has completely become a heap of ashes.”
The Baeknokdam part was completely burned and turned black.
And I saw something writhing within the ashes.
Those were moving trees, or more accurately, trees that had turned into charcoal.
– Screaming Poplar (LV. 73)
– Screaming Poplar (LV. 72)
Poplar means cottonwood in Korean. In Greek mythology, it was a monster modeled after Phaethon’s sisters who mourned his death and turned into cottonwood trees.
“Now, let’s ignore all of those for now and start looking for the boss monster.”
Kang Seo-yoon ordered the entire fleet.
“Well, if you start hitting that guy, of course they’ll rush in. But there’s no time to attack them step by step and go up. Then, you’ll take all the damage from that firestorm earlier and end up completely ruined.”
It was a strategy that was possible because of the level of confidence in the members of the Steel Fleet.
Even if they are surrounded by a horde of monsters in the mountains, they endure it and in the meantime, top rankers including Han Tae-san hunt boss monsters.
This was closer to a simple forced breakthrough rather than a raid.
But it was clear that it was the most rational strategy at this moment.
however…….
“Hmm… I’m sure it should be noticeable around here.”
Baeknokdam was currently overlooking the steel fleet.
However, no objects were captured on their surveillance network.
“…There’s no way you can’t see that huge thing, right?”
As its name suggests, the Flame Giant Phaethon was a monster over 20 meters tall.
There was no way it wouldn’t go unnoticed when looking down at something like that from the sky.
Isn’t it actually the size of a 15-story apartment?
“Now everyone, be careful. Just like the broadcasting station helicopter got hit last time—”
But before she finished speaking—
Fu—wa—ah—ah——!
An explosion sounded from somewhere, a pillar of red fire rose, and before I knew it, a red hand was sticking out from the ashes on the western side of Baeknokdam.
– Did that guy know we were coming and set up an ambush?
“—now!”
At that time, Kang Seo-yoon shouted as if she had been waiting.
Wooooow——
Soon, the lower part of the two steel 8 steel 4 airships began to open. For reference, the people on board there were ‘Water Wizards’ including Do Hee-seon.
Immediately after, something was created in the air and began to come together like a ball.
It was the ‘Great Water Ball’ with a diameter of 12m.
As many as five of them rose up and collided with the flying pillar of fire.
“Everyone hold on tight! We’re going to crash!”
Pur—un——!
The head-on collision of fire and water resulted in a huge steam explosion.
The airships nearby were pushed back dozens of meters.
– Wow, I still blocked it!
This was a defensive tactic prepared in anticipation of Phaethon’s strike.
“Ma’am, open this back door right now!”
Han Taesan shouted and walked towards the lamp door.
Lee Hyun-wook followed him out.
“……huh?”
Then Han Tae-san looked at Lee Hyun-wook with a disapproving expression.
“Why are you doing that?”
“What, are you planning to go out too?”
“That’s right.”
Crack—
“You bastard, I told you not to get cocky, right?”
“Speaking of triumph, I don’t act without evidence.”
“Ha… you are a control group! Do you want to chase after that giant?”
It was common knowledge that the so-called ‘control series’ had weak defense capabilities.
But sometimes common sense can become prejudice.
“You may not know, but I also do a bit of tanking.”
Lee Hyun-wook said that and showed a strong sword in his hand.
“Ah, did you do that when you shook my hand? But…”
He very carefully held Lee Hyun-wook’s rigid hand with his thumb and index finger. Then there was a crack with a snapping sound.
Even the mana shield overlaid on its surface was crushed.
“Hey, did you see that? That’s not enough. I was just looking at that handshake.”
Oh my god, has there ever been a saying in the world that a handshake is appreciated?…
“I don’t worry about others, but honestly, you’re a talent worth dying for, right?”
Han Tae-san said and tapped Lee Hyun-wook on the shoulder.
“Ah, you’re so energetic, it’s like what I saw when I was young.”
At that time, the lamp door opened, hot steam rushed in, and Han Tae-san waved his hand as if telling him to go away and then dived.
“Anyway, that bastard….”
Well, it wasn’t an action that I couldn’t understand.
‘No, that’s natural.’
Han Taesan was not an idiot and there was no way he could not understand the situation.
‘No, I’m a bit foolish, but…’
But no matter what, he was ranked 5th in the world.
His eyes were more accurate than most players.
‘But that’s because I don’t know what I’ve prepared.’
Hyunwook Lee was thinking of setting up what is commonly referred to as ‘Tempal’ today.
Lee Hyun-wook also followed Han Taesan and threw himself into the air.
– Ah-oh! Are you fucking stubborn too?
Han Tae-san’s voice was heard as if he had seen the scene.
That moment-
– caution! [Chloride Storm: Stage 2] is scheduled to begin in the area.
* Remaining time: 00:00:03
Before we knew it, it was time for the second chlorine storm to begin.
And this time it would be many times more powerful than before.
– Chick—The entire fleet is rising in altitude!
With Kang Seo-yoon’s voice, the steel fleet soared into the sky.
On the other hand, Lee Hyun-wook gave his body metal control as if it were weighing him down, causing him to fall faster, and in the distance, he could see the flame giant raising his body.
– Phaethon, the giant of salt (LV. 128)
And his body started to heat up as if it was going to explode at any moment—
Per—uh—uh—uh—uh——!
It really exploded.
No, the heat inside my body was expelled like a jet engine.
Qua—and—and—and—and——!
The red-hot heat flew into the forest of trees that had already turned into a pile of charcoal, turning it over once more. Lee Hyun-wook summoned Moglei and slammed it to the ground, then held on to it. And the heat wasn’t the problem.
– ‘Helios’ Protection’ is in effect.
He has a special item No. 1 prepared for this moment.
“……Oh! You’re really holding up!”
That was Han Taesan’s voice.
About 10 meters away, Hantaesan stood in a low posture, enduring the heat.
He made eye contact with Lee Hyun-wook and winked.
And then, as if to show off, he slowly started moving forward…
The closer I got, the hotter it got, so I eventually stopped.
‘Tsk, tsk, if I were to brag now, I’d be even more embarrassed…”
Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.
“Mr. Han Taesan! Do you know the story of Phaethon in Greek mythology?”
Lee Hyun-wook suddenly asked.
“Huh? What are you talking about? I don’t know much about that!”
“Hmm, don’t most high-level gates take their motifs from mythology? World-class rankers look up mythological sources before attacking…”
“—Oh, I don’t know! If you just squeeze them, they’ll all die, so why look at that!”
Yes, that would be true….
“I’m going to beat that bastard once this heat storm ends, so watch carefully!”
Lee Hyun-wook chuckled.
“Then let me tell you something!”
“Huh? What?”
“That’s the weakness of that boss monster over there.”
“what? … what is that?”
“Do you know what killed Phaethon in the myth?”
“Oh, I don’t know—and I don’t need that—!”
Lee Hyun-wook paid no heed and continued his words.
“It’s the famous lightning of Zeus!”
Phaethon dragged the sun chariot as he pleased and disturbed the earth.
Zeus got angry and shot him down.
The reason it fell to the ground was because of the nuclear power plant.
“So what are you saying?”
In other words, Phaethon’s weakness is ‘lightning’.
However, lightning is like lightning, and there was no way that such a huge monster could be retired with an electric attack like Park Jun-mo’s.
“Then what other lightning is comparable to Zeus’ lightning?”
Lee Hyun-wook muttered that and activated the tattoo on his right wrist.
Siyi———
Before he knew it, there was a hammer in his hand.
– ‘Mjolnir’ skill ‘Rain God’s Wrath’ is available for use.
U—r—r—r——!
Dark clouds were gathering from the far western sky.
